The present invention relates to a food slicer for automatic operation and, more particularly, to a food slicer with a staged dynamic brake for bringing the slicer carriage to rest in a predetermined location, such as the home location.
Commercial food product slicers are widely utilized as rapid and effective means of slicing meat, cheese, vegetables and other food products. Food product slicers commonly include a motor driven circular slicing blade, and a carriage to pass the food product over the blade. A motor is normally used to drive both the blade and the carriage. The carriage includes a carriage platform and a carriage support arm, and the carriage is reciprocatingly mounted such that when the slicer is in operation the carriage reciprocates in a linear, horizontal path, passing the food product over the blade. Under the prior art, food slicers have no controlled braking system. When the operator wished to terminate the slicing process, the operator switched the power switch to the off position, thereby terminating the power to the slicer motor. Once the power was terminated, the carriage continued to coast along its reciprocal linear path until it came to rest in an arbitrary location.
Because the carriages of prior art slicers comes to rest in a variable and arbitrary location, several complications arise. For example, food slicers are often used to slice meat, such as roast beef, and heat lamps may be utilized to keep the food product warm when the slicer is not in operation. However, if the final carriage resting position is undetermined, the most efficient location of where to aim the heat lamp also remains undetermined. This uncertainty reduces the utility and effectiveness of the heat lamp.
Another drawback with the prior art slicers is due to the fact that the slicers may leave a piece of food dangling from the food loaf. When the carriage coasts to an arbitrary position, it can come to rest in a position where the blade is embedded in the food product such that it has made a partial cut of the food product, and the partial slice is left hanging from the food product loaf. This leaves the slicer and food product in a unattractive position for customers and consumers. The situation may additionally cause the partial slice to be wasted if it is left exposed to open air for too long.
A further drawback with the prior art slicers is due to the fact that when the food slicer operator wishes to replace or replenish the food product on the carriage, it is most convenient to have the carriage located as close to the operator as possible (termed the "home" position). Under the prior art, the carriage is often located in an inconvenient position, and the operator will have to move the carriage to the home position under his or her own power.
Accordingly, there exists the need for a food slicer that can return the carriage of a food slicer to a predetermined location. There also exists a need for a food slicer that can return the carriage to a predetermined location, where the predetermined location is the home position.
The applicants have developed an invention that will return the carriage of a food slicer to any predetermined location along the carriage path, including the home position. In the course of this discovery, the applicants further determined that when the carriage of a food slicer is brought to a sudden stop, the force of the braking procedure places a severe strain upon the internal mechanical components of the slicer. It was discovered that sudden one-step braking causes wear on the system and creates an undesirable clatter when the brake is applied. Accordingly, there exists the need for a food slicer that can bring the carriage to rest in a predetermined location in a smooth manner so as to avoid excessive wear on the internal mechanical components.